1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sawdust collection assembly, and more particularly to a sawdust collection assembly for a compound miter saw to efficiently collect the sawdust when the miter saw cuts a workpiece.
2. Description of Related Art
Compound miter saws are used to make angular cuts in a workpiece of metal, wood or other material. Modern conventional compound miter saws use circular saws to cut workpieces. However, a lot of sawdust is generated when the circular saw cuts a workpiece, and the sawdust can and does interfere with subsequent cutting operations.
With reference to FIG. 4, a conventional compound miter saw with a conventional sawdust collection device in accordance with the prior art comprises a base assembly (30), a turntable (31) having a cuffing board (32), a turning disk (33), a cutting groove (35), a cutting assembly (34) and a bracket assembly (not numbered). The turning disk (33) is rotatably mounted on the base assembly (30). The cutting board (32) is elongated and protrudes from the turning disk (33). The cutting groove (35) is defined in the turntable (31) from the cutting board (32) to the turning disk (33).
The bracket assembly is mounted in the turning disk (33) opposite to the cutting board (32). The cutting assembly (34) is pivotally attached to the bracket assembly and has a body (37), a saw blade (36) and a vacuum port (38). The body (37) is pivotally attached to the bracket assembly. The saw blade (36) is rotatably mounted in the body (37) to cut workpieces. The vacuum port (38) is defined through the body (37), aligned tangentially with the saw blade (36) and adapted to connect to a vacuum cleaner (not numbered). When the saw blade (36) cuts a workpiece (not shown), the operation produces lots of sawdust that moves along a line tangent to the saw blade (36). The vacuum cleaner draws air with the sawdust out of the miter saw through the vacuum port (38).
However, the conventional sawdust collection system still has some shortcomings. Large pieces of debris and some sawdust directly fall into the cutting groove (35). The conventional sawdust collection system cannot keep the cutting groove (35) completely clear of debris and sawdust. The miter saw must be turned off periodically to clean the sawdust and debris out of the cutting groove (35). Otherwise, the sawdust and debris will adversely affect the cutting precision, convenience or efficiency of the cutting operation.
With reference to FIG. 5, another kind of compound miter saw with a sawdust collection system has typical features as in the foregoing description except for the sawdust collection system. The compound miter saw has a base assembly (40), a turntable (41) having a cutting groove (45), a bracket assembly (not numbered), a sawdust collection assembly (not numbered) and a cutting assembly (not numbered) having a saw blade (not numbered) and a body (43). The sawdust collection assembly comprises a vacuum port (44), a sawdust entry port (42), a vacuum cleaner (not shown) and associated suction tubes (not numbered) and connectors (not numbered). The vacuum port (44) and the sawdust entry port (42) are adapted to connect respectively to suction tubes that are connected to the suction side of a vacuum cleaner (not shown) through a connector. The vacuum port (44) is defined in the body (43). The sawdust entry port (42) is mounted in the bracket assembly. When the saw blade makes a cut, the sawdust and any chips or debris are drawn out of the miter saw through the vacuum port (44) and the sawdust entry port (42) by the vacuum cleaner suction. However, the sawdust entry port (42) is located a distance from the saw blade. The sawdust collection system still cannot efficiently vacuum the sawdust and debris, especially in the cutting groove (45) and around the bracket assembly. Furthermore, each of the vacuum port (44) and the sawdust entry port (42) needs a connecting suction tube to connect to the vacuum cleaner. The connecting suction tubes will increase cost and occupy a big volume.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a sawdust collection assembly for a compound miter saw to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.